


You’re Walking a Little Funny

by jellybeanforest



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Assumed Abusive Relationship, Assumed BDSM, Assumed Pain Play, Assumed Physical Abuse, Assumed homophobia, Cap-IronMan Remix Exchange, Identity Porn, M/M, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pre-Slash, Remix, So many assumptions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:00:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29258586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellybeanforest/pseuds/jellybeanforest
Summary: Steve notices that the Avengers’ benefactor, billionaire Tony Stark, gets injured surprisingly often for a civilian. New bruises and abrasions mottle what little skin is exposed and the stiff way he holds himself speaks to additional hidden injuries. Steve doesn’t want to pry, but perhaps the personal relationship between Stark and his ex-girlfriend-slash-new-CEO, Pepper Potts, is less cordial than he had initially supposed.Nat claims it's not what he thinks, Iron Man is offended he even asked, and Clint?Well..."Knowing Mr. Stark’s reputation, it’s probably a sex thing."Remix of “Noticed Hurts” by Lets_call_me_Lily for the 2021 Cap-IronMan Remix Exchange.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 39
Kudos: 160
Collections: 2021 Captain America/Iron Man Remix Exchange





	You’re Walking a Little Funny

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lets_call_me_Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_call_me_Lily/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Noticed Hurts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25648237) by [Lets_call_me_Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_call_me_Lily/pseuds/Lets_call_me_Lily). 



> This is kind of a mishmash of MCU and 616. Tony's relationship with Pepper and the composition of the Avengers is more MCU, but Steve and Tony's friendship, the identity porn, and Clint's humorous personality are more 616.

“Ground Control to Major Steve,” Mr. Stark says, snapping his fingers to draw the man’s attention upwards. “As flattered as I am, today’s presentation is about enhancements to Avengers’ tech and weaponry, not how good my ass looks in charcoal pinstripe.”

Clint snorts. “Busted.”

Steve has the sense to look chastened. “I wasn’t looking at your ass,” he states hastily, the color blooming high on his cheeks.

Stark isn’t buying it. “Uh huh. You know, hypothetically speaking, these days you’re allowed to ask a guy out. ‘Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell’ was repealed last year.”

“I wasn’t–”

“I’m pretty sure that’s still sexual harassment in the workplace,” Banner interjects. When the others turn to look at him, he fidgets, looks away and rubs the back of his neck. “What? Was I the only one who paid attention during orientation?”

“Is it still sexual harassment if Steve asks out his boss?” Clint ponders, tapping his fingers against his chin.

Nat can only shrug. “Only if he persists after the first rejection or threatens him. Besides, Mr. Stark isn’t even our boss. He’s more like a Q to the Avengers’ James Bond.”

“But he pays for everything. He who holds the gold makes the rules.”

Mr. Stark throws up his hands. “People, people! As… scintillating as this discussion over the company org chart is, I’d like to get back to the matter at hand. He proceeds to the next slide. Updates to individual uniforms–”

“Where’s Iron Man?” Clint complains. “Why does he always get a pass on attending these things?”

“I already debriefed Iron Man yesterday. If you were around me nearly as much as he is, then you wouldn’t have to come to these things either.”

“Hard pass.”

“I’m glad we’re in agreement,” Stark digresses, ignoring Clint’s soft _hey!_ of indignation before moving on, “Now for Natasha, I…”

Steve ought to be paying attention – this is important information for team cohesion and the functioning of the Avengers going forward – but he can’t help but be distracted by the bruises on Stark’s wrist revealed when his suit sleeve rides up, by the slight discoloration under his left eye covered up by a smear of concealer, and finally, by the stiffness in his gait, as if the man is trying to obscure a limp. It isn’t the first time Stark has tried to cover up mysterious injuries of unknown origin, but Steve can’t help but notice that for a rich civilian, Tony Stark gets beaten up surprisingly often.

* * *

Stark’s injuries fail to abate. Every time he appears to be on the mend, new bruises and abrasions surface, mottling what little skin is exposed, hinting at the true extent of his hidden wounds. Steve noticed it when he returned from a scrap in DC and then a scuffle with terrorists holed up in Syria and even after the Avengers were called in on domestic threats in the Midwest. Steve doesn’t want to pry into the man’s personal life, but the rate of new injuries seemed to accelerate after Stark’s relationship with his personal-assistant-turned-CEO soured, leading him to one terrible conclusion: Tony Stark – the premier genius, billionaire, and philanthropist – is being abused, most likely by his ex-girlfriend and current boss, Ms. Pepper Potts. In what seems to have been a surprising turn of events, Ms. Potts had recently displaced Mr. Stark himself as CEO of Stark Industries shortly before a very public breakup. Perhaps she is continuing to use him, and he feels he can’t escape or risk losing his company entirely. It’s an odd turn of events. In Steve’s time, it were the dames who had to worry about that sort of thing, but maybe the future is more foreign than he had come to expect.

He brings up his concerns to Natasha first, but she seems blasé about the whole affair.

“It’s not what you think, Steve,” she tells him over a cup of coffee. “Mr. Stark can be…” she searches for the right word, finally settling on “He can be reckless in the labs, and he doesn’t like asking for help. Who do you think test drives all our new tech?”

“But every week?” Steve insists.

“He’s a workaholic, and besides, Iron Man is his bodyguard. If something _was_ happening to him, don’t you think Iron Man would have said something by now?”

Steve has to concede she has a point, but he still can’t shake the distinct feeling that she knows more than she’s letting on.

* * *

“Hey shellhead,” Steve greets Iron Man on the training floor. He wipes the sweat from his brow and unwraps his fists. He can do with a little sparring, and Iron Man (wearing his 225 lb suit) is one of the few people who can make him break a sweat. “You want to maybe get in a few rounds?”

“Sure thing, winghead.” Iron Man walks up to the mat, his body sliding into a starting stance across from Steve. They move together on Steve’s signal, Iron Man flipping Steve while Steve manages to hook his arm and pull him down with him. Steve rolls them over, eventually ending with his elbow in Iron Man’s sternum and arm wrapped around Iron Man’s and locked into his elbow, pinning him to the mat.

“Not much of a fight, is it?” Iron Man quips, sounding a touch winded.

Steve lets him up. “You’re in the right weight class.”

“Is that a fat joke?”

“I’m sure you’re all muscle under that metal.” The armor itself is svelte, shapely. If it spoke of Iron Man’s true physique, the man has nothing to worry about on the physical front.

His form, on the other hand, could use work, especially since he is Stark’s bodyguard.

His bodyguard.

Who likely knew all the man’s secrets.

“Say shellhead. You and Mr. Stark go way back, right?” Steve asks as they square up yet again.

Iron Man attacks, launching himself at Steve’s midsection. Steve goes down, but he rebounds.

“A few years, give or take,” he replies.

They exchange punches, each blocking the other in turn.

“So, about Ms. Potts.”

One of Steve’s hits connects, but Iron Man dances back, and activates his repulsors to hover a couple feet up.

“What about her?”

Steve’s hands are up near his face, in a boxer’s stance. “Are they still together?”

He doesn’t quite expect Iron Man’s kick to his face, but he dodges, grabbing hold of Iron Man’s knee to bring him down to the mat again. Iron Man rolls him, trying to lock Steve’s elbows together in a double chicken wing pin. His warm faceplate is pressed into the back of Steve’s head. “Are you seriously asking me if Pepper is free?”

Steve breaks the hold before Iron Man can secure it, flipping them over, to lock Iron Man’s arm behind his back. “It’s a simple question.”

Even if Ms. Potts isn’t an abuser, she’s Stark’s ex-girlfriend. Steve isn’t dumb enough to try to date the former lover of the man in charge of his tech. That’s one way to lose one’s balls in a “freak accident.”

He gets off Iron Man, but the guy takes a little longer to rise.

“Bro Code, winghead. Maybe you should look it up.”

* * *

And so it has come to this.

Steve knows he’s scraping the bottom of the barrel, but he can’t quit, not just yet.

“Knowing Mr. Stark’s reputation, it’s probably a sex thing,” Clint says nonchalantly. He obnoxiously chomps on a bag of chips in the break room, his body reclined, legs stretched out and feet propped up on the opposite chair.

“So you think it’s Ms. Potts, too?” Steve cuts to the meat of the matter. “You think she might be… abusing him?”

Clint pauses, chip halfway to his mouth. “What? No. No, man. You got me all wrong. I think Mr. Stark… I think he likes it.” He stuffs it into his mouth and crunches loudly.

“…What?”

He places the bag of chips on the table, sitting up to explain. “You know… Rich guy. Used to calling the shots day in, day out. Can have – and probably has had – anything he wants. Sometimes, a person like that, he gets bored. Regular sex just doesn’t do it for him anymore, so he gets into… more extreme interests. BDSM, Painplay, Gangbangs, Pegging, Femdom, Findom,” he counts off each with a strike of his fingers, then shrugs. “Who knows what he’s into? I mean… it’s not for me, but frankly, I could see how a man like Mr. Stark would pay good money to have a woman like Ms. Potts step on his balls with her Louboutins while a dwarf named Larry wearing a gimp suit watches from a fold-out chair, waiting his turn to tag in.”

Steve swallows thickly. “Oh.”

“Yeah… so, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Mr. Stark’s a big boy; he can have whatever consensual sex works for him with however many people. Even dwarves named Larry. And possibly a donkey.”

He’s going to regret asking, but: “What’s the donkey for?”

“Oh boy. Well, you see…”

* * *

Steve is pretty sure a donkey isn’t involved in Stark’s sex life, but as crazy as it sounds, maybe Clint is on to something about their benefactor being into BDSM and pain play. Hell, even the loss of Stark Industries might have been a next-level form of financial domination. If that’s how the guy chooses to get off, then Clint’s right; it really isn’t any of Steve’s business.

It doesn’t stop Steve from looking up more information on the Google, and though his ears had burned with embarrassment, he had been intrigued. He imagines Stark, blindfolded and tied down, a ballgag secured between plush lips and red streaks across the meat of his ass. Perhaps there’d even be a hint of silver or gold nestled between his cheeks, something for his partner to push gently, grinding the butt plug against his prostate to the sound of muffled moans. Some of the pictures he found featured men who looked a little like Stark, muscular and olive-skinned with a dark mop of sweat-drenched hair and just a touch of facial hair. He’d even masturbated to them a couple times, imagining they are Stark splayed out before him, eager and pleading for his touch. He’s not proud of it, isn’t even sure whether the man would be open to a male partner, but that doesn’t stop him from thinking about him from time to time.

It certainly doesn’t help him ignore Stark’s little tells. If anything, Steve is even more attuned to the man’s aches and pains, the little glimpses of Stark’s sexual escapades fueling Steve’s unspoken, burgeoning desire. Of course he knows it can never be anything more than a fantasy. Stark doesn’t even like men that way…

Or does he?

Steve tries to broach the topic with Iron Man, but he is hard-pressed to put his inquiry into words. Times may have changed, but Steve is still a product of 1945, when being a man interested in other men was something to be hidden.

“So, um… about Mr. Stark,” Steve tries again.

Iron Man drinks his smoothie through a straw leading into his helmet until he loudly slurps down the dregs, gurgling for long seconds, far past what would be normal. Steve waits, and when Iron Man speaks, he sounds miffed. “If you’re interested in Ms. Potts and want his blessing or whatever, you’re going to have to ask Mr. Stark directly. I’m not relaying that message. I’d like to keep my job, thank you very much. Not all of us are irreplaceable supersoldiers.”

“No, no, it’s not about that. I was actually curious about why they broke up,” Steve muses, trying to navigate the tricky waters of asking about another man’s sexuality. “Did he… did she find out about… well, about his indiscretions with men?”

Steve didn’t live under a rock. He had seen the rumors splashed across tabloid headlines in grocery checkout stands, but how can you take a headline like “Stark’s Gay Life Exposed: Male Escort Tells All” when it was sold next to a black and white rag declaring “Squid People Terrorize Beachgoers!!!” But maybe it is true. Perhaps that’s why Pepper doesn’t pull her punches. She wants to punish Stark, and Stark (on some level) thinks he deserves it.

Iron Man is silent for a minute, so much so that Steve begins to question whether his voice modulator is malfunctioning. “…What?”

Steve stumbles over an explanation. “Some people are uncomfortable dating people who uh… go to bat for both teams, if you know what I’m saying.” It’s partly why he himself had never come out. Both women and men thought it made him untrustworthy, greedy, and suspect, as if liking more than one gender meant he was indecisive or needed to have both at the same time. “Some women think it makes a man a fairy.”

Would Iron Man look at him differently, if he knew?

Considering his reaction... yeah. Probably.

Steve can’t see Iron Man’s face, concealed as it is behind a placid gold faceplate, but he makes a funny sound. “Ms. Potts didn’t leave Mr. Stark because she found out he was a ‘fairy,’” Iron Man spits out, using air quotes. “And I don’t know what it was like in 1945, but you shouldn’t gossip about another person’s sexuality. It’s none of our business who Mr. Stark beds.”

Steve feels he should apologize because he clearly ticked off his friend, but he’s also disheartened at the way Iron Man had said “fairy” like a cuss, like he had accused Stark of a crime, as if being attracted to the same sex was something to be ashamed of or derided. But then again, Steve refuses to apologize for being who he is.

And so he defaults to an old stand-by. “I’m sorry if you were offended–”

“Save it,” Iron Man says as he walks away.

Perhaps in his mind, Iron Man is simply doing his job, trying to protect Mr. Stark’s reputation at best or keep him from people he views as predatory homosexuals at worst, as if Mr. Stark is at heart a wayward straight man easily led astray by dick. That’s not how it works of course, but that could be how Iron Man justifies his employment under a sexual degenerate, or so Steve reasons.

Still, Steve can’t help but be a little disappointed that Iron Man turned out to be so homophobic.

* * *

Steve tries to put Stark’s situation out of his mind; he really does, and he is even moderately successful, what with the threats looming from the former Soviet Union. A new mission always had a knack for clearing his mind of interpersonal conflicts. Iron Man and Steve even managed to pull together on their latest mission, fighting alongside each other seamlessly as if they had never quarreled over the latter’s sexuality.

But when the Avengers return from an undisclosed Eastern bloc country, Steve tries to visit Iron Man. The guy had taken a beating and had retired to his private rooms adjacent to the labs to recover once the Quinjet touched down. He had refused medical attention as he was wont to do and had chosen to be debriefed over speaker instead. Steve and he may have their differences, but he rather Iron Man not suffer.

He finds Stark down in the labs instead, working on fixing up his bodyguard’s armor. Perhaps their arrival had even interrupted a weekend-long BDSM session, because Stark struggles to stand as he greets Steve. Stark is walking a little funny, clearly favoring his right side, but he pretends nothing is amiss.

“Sorry, Cap. Iron Man isn’t up for visitors. Still recuperating,” he says, by way of explanation.

“That’s okay. I just stopped by to give him this,” Steve hands Stark a hefty first aid kit full of gauze, anti-bacterial cream, do-it-yourself stitches, and some numbing agents. “He refused to be checked out by S.H.I.E.L.D. again, and J.A.R.V.I.S. cleared him of major injuries, but he must be running low on supplies.” He should be, considering how often he got hurt on the field, but Steve must realize how it sounds because he quickly adds, “Not that you don’t keep him stocked. This is just extra.”

“I’ll make sure he gets it,” Stark says as he accepts the kit, almost dragging it towards his work station.

Steve feels like he should say something. Stark is very clearly in pain, and from his reading, he thinks that Ms. Potts might have gone a little too far. Perhaps the man had even agreed to it at first and then felt like he would be failing her if he backed out when it became too much. From his reading into the subject, Steve believes a good dom should be able to read their sub and not take him so far to his limits that he risks safewording out of the experience altogether.

“Um… Mr. Stark, can I speak freely about something?” Steve begins.

Stark winces as he gingerly sits down on his rolling chair. “Shoot.”

“I know it’s not my business. It’s your life, and everyone is entitled to their secrets, but what you’re doing… I’m not sure it’s healthy,” Steve tells him, leaning his hip against Tony’s workstation. “One of these days, you’re going to get seriously hurt, if you haven’t already.”

The man’s face turns ashen, and he looks like he might faint. He breaks out into a sweat, covers his face in his hands and takes a deep, steadying breath. “How did you find out?”

“Frankly, it’s kind of obvious when you pay attention. All your absences and mysterious injuries. Even now, you can’t even walk straight without wincing–”

“I’m trying to be careful, but–”

“I think your dom is hitting you too hard or maybe even in the wrong places. She could really hurt you, Stark, and not in the fun way.”

“…What?”

“Ms. Potts could damage your kidneys or maybe even your spine by accident if she’s not careful,” Steve insists.

“Wait.” Stark is gobsmacked. He holds up a hand. “Wait. Back up. What do you think is going on between me and Pepper?”

Steve crosses his arms. Stark shouldn’t play dumb, not when Steve already knows everything. And so he tells him, “You don’t have to pretend. I know about you and Ms. Potts. The whole power exchange thing. Her taking over your company as part of financial domination play. How you like her to hit you and order you around. All of it. That’s why you always seem hurt, even when you have a grade A bodyguard looking after you, and I know it’s none of my business. I know I’m probably overstepping here, but you can barely walk right now, and I think it may have gone too far.”

Stark still looks confused, a little shocked even, at how his secret could have unraveled so suddenly, but Steve isn’t done. “I– I don’t know how to go about this, and you can say no if you want. You can say no and I’ll never ever bring it up again, but if you’re interested… I could– well, maybe we could… if you want – later, of course, after you’ve healed – I would be open to doing a scene with you,” His cheeks are burning; he can feel it. “But only if you want to… Tony.” The name is foreign on his lips, but then again, if he’s propositioning the man, he should be able to call him by his given name.

Stark tilts his head, recalibrates his expression to something unreadable. “Are you– you want to have sex with me?” he says slowly. “Just so we’re clear, that’s what you’re asking.”

“If you’re uncomfortable–”

“Yes.”

Steve feels awful. Here Stark was, nearly crippled with pain, and Steve was trying to make his move. What was wrong with him? “I’m sorry to have brought it up. If we could just forget–”

“No,” Stark says quickly, but when Steve visibly flinches, he amends. “No, not… I mean yes. Before. Yes to the sex.”

Steve perks up. “After you’re healed?” he clarifies.

“Ready when you are. I just can’t believe. I mean… I never thought you’d be interested.”

Steve reaches over, watching Sta… Tony carefully as he places his hand over the other man’s, trying to gauge his reaction. The back of Tony’s hands are rough and covered in mechanical lubricant, but he doesn’t pull away. “Of course I am. How could I not be? Only… I don’t think we should tell Iron Man about us.”

Now Tony seems hurt, borderline offended even. He withdraws his hand. “Are you ashamed of being with me?”

“No– No, of course not, but Iron Man… Iron Man doesn’t like the idea of you and I…” Steve coughs and rubs the back of his neck, “of two men being sweet on each other, and I don’t want it to affect his job,” he tries to explain while Tony just stares at him, his mouth slightly agape. “Now, I don’t mean to impugn his character,” he quickly clarifies his statement. “He’s a professional, a real stand-up kind of guy, and he won’t actively put you in harm’s way, but some men… well, they think real careful about where and how they’re going to touch a man who likes other men. I don’t want him to even subconsciously think twice about swooping you up and away when danger strikes.”

Tony steeples his fingers against his temples, rubbing a circle there. “I’ll… uh… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Steve holds his hand again, his fingers interlacing with Tony’s. “Hey… I don’t care what anyone thinks about us, not even Iron Man.”

His chivalry doesn’t have quite the effect he expects when Tony only sighs in response.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tony is having a mini-crisis and seriously considers coming out as Iron Man right then and there.


End file.
